This Sunday: "Live With Purpose, Party With A Cause"

Obo Addy alone is worth the ticket price to get into this super-cool benefit concert and fundraiser. Throw in David Bowers, killer auction items and raffle prizes and it's an amazing deal. Then consider that for the cost of a pizza, you can have a direct, positive impact on the lives of 10 desperately poor orphan kids. Now you're truly partying with a cause!

Get the details here.

Get tix @ Thump Coffee and Douglas Jewelry downtown Bend on Minnesota.

november @ thump

First Friday Art Walk: Friday, November 2 (and continuing throughout November)

ART: Mark Bernahl's "Altered Books" and Artists Local 101's "Altered Stations"

Local artist Mark Bernahl displays his "Altered Books" this month. "I started sculpting into books partly because I am color blind and this limited the type of art I can make," Berhahl explains. "Plus, I always strive for making art that is beautiful and unique."

Bernahl says it takes him approximately a week to carve one of his book sculptures. He chooses the images he carves from the title or the pages in the book. "When I see any book the first thing that comes to my mind is what sculpture is already in it, and can I get it out."

Bernahl's "Wishes" installation has become a fixture at the downtown Bend coffeehouse, and continues to hang from the ceiling because it has been so well received. "When I started making art I could not afford traditional art materials and framing my art was not an option," says Bernahl. "So I started making art that did not have to be framed. This led me to making art in non traditional ways."

Before moving to Bend eight years ago, Bernahl studied architecture in Colorado and Illinois. He is actively involved in Artists Local 101 and recently presented a seminar, "Artist Portfolio on the Web," at the Deschutes County Public Library in Bend.

Read more about Mark Bernahl.

ART: Artists Local 101's "Altered Stations"

Artists Local 101 is a "hard-working band of art rebels dedicated to instigating and promoting contemporary and outsider art in Central Oregon, taking art out into the streets, and providing opportunities for artists and the community to experience art in the everyday."

During November, the group members put their own unique spin on the elaborate alters lovingly constructed to honor passed family and friends during Mexico's traditional celebration, Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Entitled "Altered Stations," each artist creates a personal shrine or alter which is on display at various locations. We
will have at least one of them here, as well as maps for self-guided tours of the other works.

Read more about Artists Local 101.

Sunday, November 18, 1:30-2:30pm

CUPPING: Coffee Tasting

Our cuppings are meant to be fun - not wine tasting snobbery. Although it is serious business, as you can tell from this description by the aptly named CoffeeGeek.com:

"Taste can be a very fleeting sensation, and in the span of microseconds many flavors will wash across the palate at the same time. The challenge is to become skilled at noticing, identifying, and describing those flavor sensations in a way that is meaningful to you.

"A wide range of vocabulary can be used to describe the tastes found in coffee. Descriptors range from the familiar (chocolatey, sweet, fruity) to the conceptual (clean, vibrant, sturdy) to the wildly esoteric (summery, racy, gentlemanly). I've heard coffees compared to Kevin Costner, Honda Accords, and cold winter nights.

"What matters is that the description is purposeful and attempts to communicate the essential nature of the coffee using language that people can relate to. Taste can be a very personal experience, and memories of tastes that you've experienced in the past form the background against which new tastes are evaluated and understood."

Read more about cupping.

thump coffee is located at 25 NW Minnesota Ave. in downtown Bend.
Please visit thumpcoffee.com or call 388-0226.

Bend High Culinary Students Feed Students in Need

EVENT DATE/TIME: October 30, 3:30-4:40 p.m.
LOCATION: Entrees Made Easy, in the Bend River Promenade, next to Macy’s

(Bend, OR) Students from Louise Markland’s Bend High School Culinary Arts program will donate their time and skills to prepare meals for fellow students in need. Working in the Entrees Made Easy kitchen and using fresh ingredients donated by the business, students will assemble ready-to-cook meals for the local Family Access Network (FAN) program.

Brenda Rachels, FAN advocate for Bend High and Mountain View High students, will help deliver the meals to students and their families who need this vital community support.

FAN works within our local schools — the Bend-LaPine, Redmond and Sisters districts — to link children and families to critical support, such as nutritious meals, dental work, job opportunities, clothing, rent assistance, childcare support, health insurance, or whatever the child needs.

Entrees Made Easy recently launched a year-long effort to ‘adopt’ 10 children each month by donating the funds necessary to fund FAN advocates for them. A FAN advocate can provide services to one student for an entire year for just $100. According to FAN program director Julie Lyche, FAN especially needs community support right now because of reduced funding and a growing school population.

Last year, the Bend High Culinary Team won the National Culinary Management Championships. Six students from the Culinary Arts program, 16- and 17-year-olds, volunteered for the meal preparation project.

10 Most Important Principles That Helped Make Me Successful

I ran across this list shortly after I returned to working on my own again in June 2006. Because it so closely matches my own perspective on working life, I immediately printed it and hung it on my office wall - where it's been since. -HOC

10 Most Important Principles That Helped Make Me Successful
by Ray Kappe architect, planner, and educator

1. Think positively, not negatively.

2. Accept structure but know that it is to be questioned and broken when necessary.

3. Always be willing to explore, experiment and invent. Do not accept the status quo.

4. Know yourself and keep your work consistent with who you are and how you think.

5. Maintain good moral and social values.

6. Be humble, honest, compassionate, and egalitarian.

7. Have conviction about your work.

8. Be open and say yes to most ideas and requests. The good ones will be valuable, the bad ones will cease to exist.

9. Allow employees and fellow workers freedom and the ability to work to their strengths. Avoid hierarchy.

10. Money should be the residual of work, not the goal. But do not compromise your worth.

New Project: Carol Sternkopf Photography

There's something magical about a great portrait. It takes a keen eye and superb artistic vision to create one that rises above the mundane. From the Dutch masters' oil paintings to Annie Liebowitz's celebrity photographs, the most arresting people-pictures capture something of the essence of the individual and their personality. A simple gesture, a moment of completely candid emotion, a setting, an object, an article of clothing - small details bring portraiture to life.

I'm currently collaborating with Carlos Perez at Perez design on a website update for Bend-based photographer Carol Sternkopf. Carol is a truly gifted portrait photographer. Her formal fine arts training in drawing shines through the lens of 20 years experience as a pro shooter.

Of course, Carol shoots more than portraits - fine art photography, photo illustration and editorial work are well represented in her portfolio. And it all glimmers with the touch of an artist's hand.

Now, if I can help convey some of that magic in the website . . .

Last Minute Reminder: COTA Biketoberfest tomorrow

If you're like me and not able to help with the trailwork (I have kids' soccer games on Saturday), then try to make it to the party and re-up your membership. -hoc

This is from Chris @ COTA:

Biketoberfest - our big annual trailwork day is this Saturday the 20th.

Meet at: 8AM Saturday 20th - Mt. Bachelor's Park and Ride on the corner of Simpson and Columbia Avenues.

Bring: Yourself and your riding buddies. A hydration pack with water and a few snacks. Eye protection (riding glasses), gloves and sturdy footwear.

Tools: COTA will provide the bulk of the tools. If you have your own trail work tool bring it.

Party! COTA will host a post-work party at the park and ride with a BBQ and beverages for all the workers. The plan is to have all crews back at the Park and Ride by 2pm for the festivities.

Signups: COTA has a variety of trail projects lined up for the day. Saturday morning you will be given the option to choose what you would like to work on for the day. Here's a partial list of what we're hoping to accomplish-

Farewell: tread repair - hike in up to a mile from Tumalo Falls TH
Mrazek: trail realignment and tread repair. Short hike.
South Fork: tread repair - hike up to a mile from Tumalo Falls TH
Upper Whoops: re-alignment and tread repair - 1/2 mile hike in.
Lower Whoops: tread repair.
Storm King: a variety of projects including brush work. Driving to multiple work sites.
Ben's Trail: re-alignment of user-built go-arounds.
Slalom Play Loop: Buffing out this awesome zone.
The Lair: Work continues on Oregon's newest freeride zone!
Flagline: tread repair and new features. This will require bikes. Please send an email to: lissettenz(at)yahoo.com to confirm a place with this crew. This crew is only for those who are dedicated - expect bad weather, hard work, and a possibly a longer day.

Looking forward to another productive day putting our trails back together for the winter. See you there.

Wonder Worman - Central Oregon's New Vermiculture Source

(Bend, OR) Nature's perfect little composting machine, the Red Wiggler earthworm, has been championed by a new green super hero, Wonder Worman. With the expert help of Wonder Worman and her trusty sidekicks, any citizen can now do his or her part to reduce landfill waste. Why throw away those kitchen scraps when Wonder Worman and her army of Red Wigglers can convert that trash into treasure?

Start a worm bin now in your garage or greenhouse, and harness the super compost-making power of the Red Wigglers all winter long. Come spring, you'll have a bin full of rich, natural compost for flower or vegetable gardens.

Don't have a worm bin? Never fear, Wonder Worman can give you easy-to-follow plans to build one from commonly available materails and a few simple tools. For details, contact Wonder Worman's unassuming alter-ego, Laurie the Red Wiggler Merchant at 541-390-7610, or go to her temporary website for an email link: wonderworman.com